Osseous Surgery

Just wanted to share my story in hopes it will help another. Personally I did not have any major dental fears and phobias until I developed a pretty bad panic disorder which followed my surgery for endometrial cancer. My panic disorder manifested with a condition called globus hystericus which caused me to have constant great difficulty in swallowing. A year's worth of medication and counseling greatly helped relieve this condition, but when I was informed by my dentist that my gums were not in the best shape and bone loss was noted on x-ray, the next step was I needed to see a periodontist in an effort to prevent further damage and eventual tooth loss likely caused by a combo of the effects of my hysterectomy and side effects from the anti anxiety medication I was on which is notorious for drying out the mouth which inturn promotes bacterial growth. I can't even tell you the terror I initially felt thinking about the possibility of having major invasive work done in my mouth which may cause a rebound of the globus which was a living nightmare for me. But, I did not want to loose my teeth either, so I began to do a little research about various periodontal therapies. I located a periodontist, the only one in my state who performs laser periodontal surgery which instead of flap cutting and stitching, a laser is used to open the pockets and debride the diseased tissue, then a series of instruments are used to clean the bone, then then pockets are sealed closed with the laser. I had my first quadrant done this past week, and I am not going to lie and say it was a cake walk but the fear had more to do with my swallowing issues which I was a little shakey at the start of the procedure, but as far as for pain I experienced none pre or post procedure. I was prescribed an NSAID a little stronger than Motrin primarily for swellling prevention, but if I was not required to take this med ice and Tylenol would have been sufficient. Wanted to share my story for those who may be dealing with similar periodontal issues and are putting off having this type of work done out of fear of pain to seek out a periodontist in your area that utilizes laser surgery. I located mine doing a Google seach. Periodontal disease can cause far more serious health problems than just loss of teeth and it needs to be treated before these serious health issues occur.

I'm so glad everything went well for you!!!

Can you please tell me how much the laser treatment costs? How did it work out in the end? Are your gums a lot better now? I need to have this done.